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she whined, "but it is more than that. I tell him he loves his brother better than his wife or children. He is always eager to run John's errands, as if he were a nothing. Lesser men should be employed. And John knows how weak I am. If William said I was illbut he does not believe how tortured I am." |
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And neither do I, Alinor thought, so annoyed by the pitch of the voice and the fluttering, repetitive gestures that she did not notice the very shrewd expression in Lady Ela's pale blue eyes. She looked only at the plump body and the very pretty, rosy face. You are as strong as an ox, you lazy bitch, Alinor thought. |
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"Men often do not understand such matters," Alinor remarked, concealing her contempt. "I have always found it best not to speak of my health at all." |
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"That is easy to say for someone who does not suffer ill health," the countess drawled. |
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There was a note of pride in her voice, Alinor noted, and in spite of her distaste for the woman, she felt a touch of sympathy. The ill health was her one distinction. Alinor raised her eyes and happened to catch sight of Isobel, who was dancing as lightfootedly as a girl with Robert of Leicester. If Isobel had not married William, who patiently taught her to handle such responsibility as she was capable of, Isobel would have become as much a bore about religion as this woman was about her health. |
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Farther down the hall a flash of red hair made Alinor smile. Joanna was in seventh heaven, romping with the other noble children. The two ideas connected in her mind. Better suffer boredom than need the distinction of ill health or excessive faith. Joanna would not be taught the pleasures of idleness. She would be taught that she was a necessary and valuable part of life and thus she would set a high value on her own worth. Alinor would enquire among the quests for a suitable middle-aged gentlewoman. With such a woman and Father Francis |
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